NZ Select finish tour of China by exacting revenge upon Cameroon

New Zealand Select wrapped up their six game tour of China on a positive note downing Cameroon 73-69 in Shenzhen on Friday evening.

New Zealand finished the trip with a 5-1 record and will have plenty of positives to take from the tour.

Having lost by 24 points to Cameroon last Sunday, the change in fortune was based on outstanding defence with the African team held to 43 points in the first three periods.

Coach Mike Fitchett was proud of the effort.

"It was a great performance from the guys last night, really proud of the turnaround. We shot the ball very well, especially Ethan and Luke. Most importantly, we dealt with their length and athleticism and only had 16 turnovers (down from 29). We controlled the pace of the game well and didnt allow them to run. Holding them to 30 points in the first half was great."

New Zealand trailed in the opening quarter 17-16 but really put the defensive clamps on in the second to reach half-time with a 41-30 lead.

Canterbury guard Ethan Rusbatch (10 points) and Southlands Luke Aston (12 points) led the scoring at the break, Finn Delany also chiming in with 8 points.

The Kiwis again kept Cameroon to 13 points in a quarter and with Rusbatch and Aston sharing 11 points increased its lead to 58-43 with ten minutes to play.

"Other than 16 committed turnovers, our major key was to win the rebound battle and we got that done too," added Fitchett.

Despite a ferocious effort from Cameroon in the final period, New Zealand Select held on for a deserved victory.

The Kiwis shooting from beyond the arc was also effective as collectively they shot 48% (13/27). Aston (5 from 8) and Rusbatch (4 from 9) were the leading marksmen.

Fitchett was delighted with performance of the players over the six games.

"Overall it was a really good tour and all of the guys did themselves a favour when it comes to Tall Blacks selection at some time in the future.

For a number of the payers that selection may come sooner rather than later with the Tall Blacks team for the Asia Cup to be named later this month.

Final Score:

NZ Select 73 (Rusbatch 19, Aston 17, Delany 16, King-Hawea 6, Cook-Green 4, Wetzell 4, Tolovae 3, Timmins 2, Ngatai 2).

Cameroon 69.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand